Advancing Energy Citizenship: Hindering and Supporting Factors in Latvia’s Energy Transition

This chapter explores the hindering and supporting factors in the development of energy citizenship in Latvia. This contribution identifies key threats arising from the complex economic landscape shaped by geopolitical dynamics and escalating energy costs, as well as the level of political commitment in the field of climate policy and renewable energy. The chapter identifies a lack of confidence in public institutions and collective efforts as one of the critical obstacles to broader engagement with energy citizenship initiatives. The chapter also highlights several factors that contribute to the development of a framework energy citizenship. These include robust financing and investment prospects in this field, initiated by the EU and national level support schemes; the pivotal role of decarbonisation technologies and renewable energy sources, particularly household solar installations as well as Latvia's natural resources, encompassing residual forestry materials and solid biomass. National policy recommendations are included to conclude this chapter. Overall, this contribution broadens the understandings of energy citizenship development in Latvia, paving the way for future potential policy decisions and strategic interventions.